


Mirror That Sheds Light on the Colored Sunrise

by VTheTrashKing



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route Spoilers, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loss of Control, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Minor Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg, One Shot, POV Outsider, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Time Travel Fix-It, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, but it's implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTheTrashKing/pseuds/VTheTrashKing
Summary: Dimitri shatters at the reveal in the Holy Tomb, luckily Claude is able to stop him from doing something rash. In turn, Byleth keeps the Flame Emperor from running.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 106





	Mirror That Sheds Light on the Colored Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my google doc for ages, so here you go!

A laugh. Spiels of laughter quickly unraveling like tangled yarn, burning away in a sea of flames.

A _laugh_ raised the hairs on the back of Claude’s neck.

A sick feeling settled in Claude’s chest and invaded the rest of his body. He felt _choked._ It was as if an assassin came to collect, strangling Claude in his sleep. Preying on him at his most vulnerable moment. 

Claude didn’t register the downright _fearful_ gasps echoing around the Holy Tomb. All he noticed was the mad prince in front of him. His entire body was _full_ of tension, ready to snap. 

“Is this some kind of twisted _**joke**_?!”

Claude’s breath caught in his throat. He stood frozen as Dimitri readied his lance. He nearly _winced_ when Dimitri took a single step and _crushed_ Edelgard’s mask under his foot. 

Claude swallowed. His throat was painfully dry. 

Claude expected Teach to _do_ something. _Anything_ to stop Dimitri. Byleth just stood there. Claude briefly glanced at them.

He wished he hadn’t.

Teach looked _haunted._ It was almost like they weren’t even _there._

Claude tore his gaze away. He _was_ worried for Byleth, but Dimitri was far more important. To preserve his own sanity, Claude tried to tune out Dimitri’s murderous declaration. It seemed like the blonde would race to Edelgard just to kill her, judging by the half-lunge motion he was in. Claude reacted quickly and _immediately_ put Dimitri in a headlock. It wasn’t firm enough to inflict any damage. Dimitri _snarled_ at Claude. His head whipped back, staring Claude down. 

The light Dimitri’s eyes were _gone._ All that remained was a rage filled haze. Usually, Claude was greeted with a beautiful ocean, bright blue and unwavering. A rush of a high tide when Dimitri was wholeheartedly determined. Still, calm waters when Dimitri had a rare moment of peace. That peace being disturbed, yet it was _always_ welcomed, especially if it was Claude. His schemes, his charm, his _genuine_ words. It seemed to make that ocean even prettier. A sun casting its light against the water, making it shimmer. 

Now.

_Now,_ that ocean became muddy. Dull and murky. 

“ _Claude._ Let _**go**_ of me!”

Claude wanted to throw up. In all the times Dimitri has called for him, it’s _never_ been unhinged and bloodthirsty. Claude heard Dimitri wail out his name in exasperation. He’s heard him say his name and _roll_ his eyes. He heard his own name from Dimitri’s lips, so _soft_ and fond. Full of adoration that Claude _still_ can’t wrap his head around. Crying out for him, clinging onto him when his nightmares kept him awake. Pleading with Claude, using his real name so pitifully to beg him to _stay._

Claude’s skin crawled. His entire body felt _cold._ Clammy.

_I’m not afraid._

_I’m **not** afraid._

_Right?_

Claude _couldn’t_ have been scared. He stopped feeling scared when assassins just _kept_ coming. At most, he felt uneasy. Unease at the slew of crazy happenings in Garreg Mach. That bandit leader, Kostas getting captured by Teach and _let go._ Tomas disappearing and a _weird_ old demon guy found dead in the cellars. Teach going off on their own on all sorts of missions, whether it be from Rhea or his classmates.

Claude couldn’t have been scared of _Dimitri._ Not when Dimitri took a mental nosedive after having terrible nightmares, seeking _Claude_ out and telling him of Duscur. The reason he enrolled into Garreg Mach. Revenge. Not when Claude admitted that he _liked_ Dimitri’s Crest. His country prided itself on strength, and Claude realized he did, too. He admired the power Dimitri had.

Yet.

At this very moment, Claude realized just how _deadly_ that power could be. Easily, _easily,_ Dimitri could break Claude’s arm. Rip it _off,_ even. Claude thought back to when Dimitri bent dozens of needles, sewing a decently made scarf for him. He thought of the way Dimitri’s _steel_ lance chipped and nearly broke by the _lightest_ pressure when Claude caught him by surprise.

Claude tightly shut his eyes. He let out a _long_ sigh, filled to the brim with anxiety he hoped to expel. Claude reopened his eyes. 

“I promised you, Mitya. I won’t _ever_ let go.” Claude whispered, trying to replace his rising fear with something gentle.

Dimitri thrashed in Claude’s hold, snarling like a rabid animal.

“Forget the damned promise! I _**want**_ her head! They’re _screaming_ for it!”

“Dima.”

“Shut your _mouth._ ” Dimitri growled low in his throat. 

“You know by now I am incapable of doing so.” 

Dimitri barked out a _cruel_ laugh, “Then I’ll have to rip your silver tongue right from your mouth.”

Claude grit his teeth. A shiver went down his spine. He sighed again, steeling himself.

Whenever Dimitri teetered on the edge of his sanity, Claude sang to him. Whistling, humming, it didn’t seem to matter. Whatever he said, whatever he sang calmed Dimitri down. His fingers carefully threading through Dimitri’s hair, lightly scratching at his scalp. Claude only hoped it would ring true and pull Dimitri from the deep end.

Claude dipped his head down. His chin brushed against Dimitri’s golden blonde hair. 

“Dimitri,” Claude quietly chided, “how else will I sing to you?”

Dimitri grunted.

Dimitri struggled a bit more. Claude still held him. Dimitri screamed bloody murder at Edelgard, full of pure venom. Hatred. To her credit, Edelgard didn’t _seem_ afraid. Her pale purple eyes drifted to Claude’s for a second.

The stone cold walls Edelgard built up shattered once Claude met her gaze. She _was_ scared.

In the middle of their brief staring match, Dimitri elbowed Claude in the ribs. Claude shut his mouth, clenched his teeth and let out a pained exhale. 

Dimitri broke a rib bone. He probably left a bruise on Claude’s skin, too.

Claude saw the clear shift in Edelgard’s somewhat calm demeanor. Her eyes went _wide._ The smile Claude gave her was more a grimace. 

‘Better me than you.’ Claude mouthed.

Edelgard made a face before gaining an unfazed look. 

Claude took a breath. He wanted to keel over and _die._ Taking a single breath hurt _so_ much. 

“ _Dimitri-_ ” Claude hissed, pained.

Dimitri flinched. He choked on a breath, ready to say _something._ Claude beat him to the punch.

“I’m _okay,_ little lion.” Claude forced out.

Claude winced as he inhaled. He started humming, his voice softer than a whisper. Dimitri’s shoulders slumped. 

It was a simple song from Almyra. A wordless lullaby sung to children to get them to sleep. The lullaby had a story behind it. A woman becoming a mother to dozens of children out of self-preservation, sending them to their deaths under the guise of adoption. Children being bred like cattle, only to be devoured by demons. 

The lore was haunting. The nameless lullaby itself was not. Dimitri had called it calming as he slowly relaxed. Dimitri was a strange one, for sure. 

Claude wryly smiled. Dimitri stopped struggling. He went limp in Claude’s semi-lose chokehold. 

“Go rest, Dimitri. You haven’t been sleeping lately.”

“I can’t! I _can’t._ Not when they need-”

“Hey now, Dima. Take care of yourself first.”

“I _can’t,_ Claude! I-”

“You leave me no choice, then.” Claude murmured.

When humming wasn’t enough, Claude resorted to singing. Dimitri shyly admitted to Claude that he liked hearing his voice. Claude _long_ since realized that. Dimitri would hang on _every_ word, teasing or not. He would smile as bright as the sun when Claude spoke in hushed Almyran. Claude would weave stories, fakery tales that eventually turned into true recounts of his life. Dimitri ate them up. Dimitri looked absolutely _enraptured,_ his bright blue eyes boring into Claude’s skull when he sang for the very first time in front of him. Claude sent him a teasing grin and a wink, catching the blonde’s stare. The poor prince practically jumped and looked away, flustered. 

“I was so happy when you smiled.” Claude quietly sang in Almyran.

Dimitri shivered, choking out a noise.

“Your smile breaks through the clouds of gray.”

Tears dripped onto Claude’s uniform sleeve.

“Far from the sunny days that lie in sleep.”

Claude slowly loosened his grip. He hugged Dimitri, keeping the prince close. Claude finished singing and let a genuine, relieved grin pull on his face. Dimitri _lost_ the madness that haunted him. He went slack against Claude’s chest like a puppet without its strings. 

“Sleep, my lion.”

Claude got a sniffle in response.

“I’d carry you like a bride but I’m afraid I can’t. You’re heavy.” Claude joked.

Claude’s grin turned into a soft smile once Dimitri huffed out a wet laugh.

“ _Although,_ I can offer you _one_ piggyback ride.”

It took a while for Dimitri to find the words he needed. 

“Your rib.” Dimitri breathed out.

The pure _guilt_ in his voice made Claude’s heart hurt. 

“I can fix that. Have you forgotten what my Crest does?”

Silence.

“You can hurt me.”

Claude clicked his tongue.

“If the prince so demands it, I suppose I should.” Claude airily replied.

Dimitri hung his head, accepting his fate. Claude frowned at him. He freed his right arm and bent it over Dimitri’s head. Claude made a chopping motion with his hand. Once the pseudo-hit connected, his hand made a light thunking sound against Dimitri’s head. Claude’s Crest flared onto the palm of his hand. He ruffled Dimitri’s hair as his Crest healed the broken bone, as well as the fresh bruise.

“Oh. I thought.” Dimitri’s voice trailed off.

“I would _never_ hurt you.”

Before Dimitri could fire back with a self-deprecating comment, Claude filled the brief silence.

“The _most_ I would do is accidentally poison you or use self-defense if you catch me off guard. Even if you hurt me, I’m _not_ going to hurt you back.”

The conversation lulled.

“Okay.” 

“Okay,” Claude echoed, “come now, Dimi. Piggyback time.”

Dimitri kept his head down, unwilling to meet Edelgard’s eyes. Or anyone else. He weaved behind Claude. The brunette lightly chuckled and picked Dimitri up. Claude huffed out a groan. A lithe archer like himself wasn’t equipped to deal with carrying another person. Especially a person named Dimitri. His knees slightly buckled as a dead weight _slowly_ settled against his back. Dimitri’s breath fanned the back of Claude’s neck. Calm and even. Claude let himself smile. Dimitri _actually_ fell asleep. 

The smile slipped off once Claude met Edelgard’s eyes. His forest green eyes went cold.

“You got a _lot_ to explain, Edelgard.”

To Claude’s right, Byleth grunted.

“Don’t run.” Byleth said.

Edelgard looked back at Teach and Claude, almost frantically. 

“Is,” Edelgard paused, reigning in her panic, “is that a threat?”

Claude glanced at Byleth. He held back a wince. They looked so, _so_ pained. It was like a war flashed behind their mint green eyes. Claude’s _never_ seen such an expression on their face. _Ever._

“Just- come back with us. To Garreg Mach.”

Rhea was about to reply with _something_ scathing, but Byleth stopped her with a simple raise of their hand.

“ _Please._ ”

Edelgard’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Claude schooled his own surprise. Byleth wasn’t one to beg. The _first_ and last time their professor so much as let a plea fall from their lips was when Jeralt nearly _died._

Byleth’s voice resounded in Claude’s head. The memory of Byleth hunched over by Jeralt’s side, screaming as they used _everything_ they could to heal him. Whimpering like a kicked dog when Jeralt passed out. When ‘Jeralt’ became ‘Dad.’

“ _Don’t go, dad. You can’t go! Please, don’t die. I can’t do this_!”

“ _ **Not again.** Please._”

The memory went away like the wind. Byleth paced forward, the motion unsure and uncharacteristically unstable. The soldiers by Edelgard’s side readied their weapons. Byleth paid them no mind. _Byleth_ sank to their knees.

Claude heard Byleth mutter under their breath. Whatever they said caused Edelgard to look absolutely _dumbfounded._ Dozens of questions flickered in her pale purple eyes.

“Come back to the academy with us, Edelgard. Let’s have a faculty meeting. With your class. Everyone. _Don’t_ go.” Byleth’s words were stilted. Awkward with the hint of _uneasiness_ seeping through.

“Come back.”

“What will you do if I don’t?” Edelgard questioned.

Claude did _not_ expect for their freakishly strong professor to crumble to the ground. Byleth looked so frail, forehead planted on the stone floor, hands in their mint green hair, tugging to the point of _ripping_ clumps out. A garbled, _strangled_ noise left their throat.

Claude didn’t expect Byleth’s response, either.

“I’ll bury the dead again.” Byleth murmured into the Holy Tomb, their voice bouncing off the walls.

“E-Excuse me?”

“Everyone.”

“Professor? _Byleth_?”

Edelgard shot Claude a _terrified_ look, to which Claude returned with a shrug. He then shared Edelgard’s expression when Byleth spoke up again. 

“We killed him. He used to be our friend. Don’t you _remember_?”

“Hey, Teach, _who’s_ ‘him’?”

Byleth seemed to snap out of their quiet mental breakdown.

“No.”

“No?” Claude prodded.

“No as in I am not answering that.”

Byleth rose to their feet. They stared Edelgard down.

“You’re going back to Garreg Mach for a meeting to address all of this. No if, and or buts. No _questions,_ either. As your professor, you _will_ attend this meeting or I’m giving you detention.”

A pause.

“Just detention?”

“No questions.”

“Then I accept.”

Byleth turned on their heel, ignoring Rhea’s ungodly screech of rage. They snapped their fingers. Magenta beams of light pierced the air, teleporting everyone in the room away.

* * *

All three houses and the staff settled in the Black Eagles classroom. Claude sat by Dimitri’s side, running his thumb over his knuckles. The blonde stopped seething with rage, choosing to focus on Claude. The brunette offered him a sweet smile. 

Across from them all was Edelgard. She wrung her hands together. It was _interesting_ to see Edelgard’s vulnerability for once.

“Explain yourself, Edelgard.” Dimitri demanded. 

“Truth be told, I don’t remember much about Faerghus.”

A thick, heavy silence loomed about in the classroom. Edelgard cleared her throat.

“I returned to the Empire, and _that’s_ what I recall.”

Teach sucked in a breath as if they knew what Edelgard was talking about. Strange.

“There is a group Hubert calls Those Who Slither in the Dark. They- I- They experimented on me. On my siblings.”

Edelgard glanced down at the wooden table. 

“Due to their,” Edelgard sighed, “ _efforts,_ I received a Crest. A _second_ Crest. My siblings did not. They were pushed to the brink of insanity or died from exhaustion.”

“A second Crest does not yield any benefits. It turned my hair white. It cut my lifespan in half.”

The air became _oppressive._

Edelgard told them _everything._ Her motives. Her beliefs. A girl’s childhood stolen by ruthless experimentation. A girl managing to cling to her sanity by the help of a dagger. A dagger she had long since forgotten the memories behind it, but kept nonetheless. Like the second Crest she bore, the girl burned with a new resolve as she grew up _too_ fast. She wanted to rewrite Fódlan. The Crest system. The _caste_ system.

“Alright princess. We know your end goal and pretty much what you did and _didn’t_ do, now, but what about your plans to _reach_ that goal?” Claude asked.

“War.”

“ _War_?!” Edelgard’s Black Eagles exclaimed in fear, save for Hubert.

Edelgard sat stock still before nodding. 

“ _Edelgard,_ ” Dorothea began, watching Edelgard _flinch_ at her full first name, “tell me. If you didn’t come back, would you really have-”

Another nod. Dorothea’s face twisted. She rose from her chair, not bothering to hide her incoming tears. The songstress _ripped_ her signature black cap off her head and slammed it down in front of Edelgard. 

“Keep _your_ hat.” Dorothea’s voice caught in her throat, strangling her betrayed, anguished tone.

Dorothea left. Edelgard quietly wept. Her sobs grew just a bit louder as they all picked up on Dorothea’s tearful voice breaking out into a shaky song. A song of a broken rose, clinging to a love that no longer existed.

Rhea looked _beyond_ pissed off. Her serene light green eyes shifted into something _stomach churning._ Her pupils were pin pricked like an excited bird, but she seemed _enraged._ Murderous, almost. 

“You _wicked_ girl! What right do _you_ have to-”

Byleth _stopped_ Rhea in her tracks just by _glancing_ at her. Rhea opened her mouth to resume her rant. She promptly shut it with an audible click at Byleth’s stone cold words.

“Seiros. Listen to your mother. Calm down or I will _make_ you.”

_Seiros? Mother?_

_You know what, no, I’m not even going to pry. Not yet, at least._

Claude startled once Dimitri let go of his hand. He held his breath, his easygoing mask slipping ever so slightly when Dimitri stood up. He watched Dimitri weave around the tables. Slowly moving forward against the bubbling chaos. In mere moments, Dimitri and Edelgard faced each other again.

Claude caught Byleth reaching for their wrist, gloved fingers resting on their pulse. Anxiety painted a horrific picture on their usually blank face. 

“ _El,_ you _fool._ ” Dimitri mournfully whispered, clenching his fists. 

Dimitri’s nails broke the skin. He quickly shook his head and scrunched up his face as if he was in pain. The _entire_ room watched in rising fear when Dimitri reached out for Edelgard. They expected him to cut her down. Kill her. She did, too.

That fear shifted into relieved bewilderment. Dimitri _hugged_ Edelgard.

“You fool.” Dimitri repeated, tightly holding onto her.

Byleth sunk into their chair, hands covering their face. They let out a shaky sigh and quietly chanted something that made Claude raise his eyebrows.

“It’s over. It’s _over. It’s over._ ”

Claude distantly wondered why there was a _sharp_ pain in his stomach. Why it felt like a lance blade drove through his stomach. Why a rough, unhinged voice filtered into his head, unintelligible words coming out as twisted growls. Why, in a moment of clarity, that same voice firing back with a simple ‘Am I?’ had Claude’s heart shattering for no reason at all.

Why indeed.

Byleth regained their composure.

“Edelgard von Hresvelg, I’ll give you a deal. I will remove your second Crest and as for your end of the deal, you must live with the mistakes you have made. Live with the ones you haven’t. Create a new dawn for Fódlan, with us. With Claude, Dimitri, Seth- _Seteth_ and I. With all the houses.”

To lighten the somber mood, Byleth _jokingly_ added, “Consider yourself dismissed. So, see you tomorrow for class. Don’t forget to do your homework.”

Claude bit his lip _hard_ to avoid laughing when Linhardt’s sleepy reply of “There was homework?” filled the air.

Byleth blinked, fondly shaking their head.

“With that being said, let’s cut a path to a better future, tomorrow. I’m tired,” Byleth looked over their shoulder, meeting Jeralt’s proud, _knowing_ eyes, “Jeralt, let’s go drinking.”

Jeralt snorted, “Sure thing, kid. You _definitely_ need it.”

They left. Claude didn’t watch them go. He stared at the sun casting light on Dimitri and Edelgard, instead. Claude drew in a breath and walked over to them. The pair flinched at the noise, too lost in their own anguished little world.

“Mind if I join the House Leader hug?”

Dimitri brightly grinned, years worth of tears trailing down his pale face. Edelgard sniffled and blinked back her own tears. 

“Don’t poison us, we _just_ managed to patch up some things, Claude.” Dimitri half-joked.

Claude played along, faking an outraged, over the top gasp.

“Why I _never,_ Your Royalness! Come ‘ere!”

Claude laughed, wrapping them in a strong bear hug. He snorted when the _rest_ of the class joined in and crushed the poor golden deer in a massive, tearful group hug.


End file.
